Early Again
by saya.sen
Summary: 1917: 16 year old Edward meets 7 year old Bella at a hospital ward, where she's getting a surgery done on her eyes. It fails, so her parents take her away. Almost a century later can they meet again? What happens when Bella isn't just your ordinary vamp?
1. Prologue

EPOV

Prologue:

She lifted her head as I quietly slipped into the room.

"I can never sneak up on you can I?" I said, while my eyes swept her face, knowing that it would be the best indication to whether or not she was alright. It was carefully blank. She knew me too well.

"Seven years of experience my dear. After all this time it's almost as if I can _see_ you. Through the wall." She glared at me pointedly, and I chuckled at her. Such an old soul she was. Far more mature than those measly eleven years that she so extolled. Of course she knew how I had paced restlessly outside her room as she had her operation. Her slim arm came up to touch the bandages which wrapped around curious, if long dead eyes.

"Walls are not the only thing I can see through" She said.

I sighed, she really could see right through me. "How did it go?"

"We don't know yet, but..." She said, head ducking down.

I gathered her small body in my arms kissing her hair and humming the soft melody which had played itself in my head since the moment I'd met this strange, entrancing, fragile creature. Her lullaby. I didn't say anything, knowing that she had no desire to be pitied or spoken kindly to. My lady, as I called her in my mind, was as strong as she was delicate.

"Its times like these when I feel very angry with you." She said.

"Oh? And for what reason" I asked, amused. So small and weak yet so stubbornly fierce, my lady was adorable when she was angry.

"For being nine years old when I was born, and for taking so long to find me."

"Ah. I'm sorry. Then I promise to make it up to you someday."

She yawned, her head risting on my chest. "Good." she sighed, "Remember that you aren't allowed to leave me anymore".

"I would never voluntarily leave you love." I soothed her, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "Now sleep, tomorrow is a long day.

I hummed her lullaby as I watched her drift into sleep. She was yet a child, only seven years old, but I knew that one day I would fall in love with the woman she was swiftly becoming. She was always so serious, so much the adult I sometimes forgot how young she truly was. So kind, so accepting, yet perceptive and wise far beyond her years, she had allowed her parents to force her into an operation which had only the barest chance of succeeding, and every chance of harming her if it failed. She and looked at them and understood that they needed her to try this operation, that having a blind daughter was a burden which they were ill prepared to carry, and that in their desperation they would disregard her sentiments on the off chance that the operation could produce the "whole" daughter they had dreamed of. She had even forgiven them for never understanding how wonderfully amazing she was, for never appreciating what they already had in their hands. They were stupidly oblivious to Bella's perfection, the way she could turn her weakness into strength, the way her blindness gave her more insight than any other person I had ever known. She understood people better even than I, who always seemed to know what was on everyone's mind but hers. Her blindness gave her compassion. It was a gift, whether her parents realized that or not.

"Edwaaaaaaaaard!" she whined softly in her sleep, "The cookies stole my pillow!"

I chuckled, "It's alright love, I'll be your pillow for tonight."

She snuggled further into my chest, throwing one leg over my hip. I sighed. This girl would be the death of me one day.  
"Edward. Stay." She commanded.

"As you wish my dear." I whispered.

"I love you." She sighed, and my heart went into overdrive. I stared at her sleeping form. Her face was so peaceful, so angelic.

"I love you too." I whispered, and then allowed myself to drift off to sleep.

Three days later Bella's parents took her away from me. Once they learned that their daughter would not recover her sight, they left town, leaving behind several unpaid debts. They disappeared, and as much as I ached to search for Bella, my mother's worsening condition prevented me. My father was drafted into the Great War, which raged in the fields of Europe, leaving my mother, who had never been of a strong constitution, sickly and broken hearted. With her in such a fragile state, constantly in and out of the hospital, I had no choice but to stay home and care for both her and our home. My only consolation was the support of Dr. Carlisle, the physician who had performed Bella's surgery and was my mother's caretaker. But I was hollow inside. My face was expressionless, my actions automatic. My voice was broken and empty of all cadences. I spent my time doing whatever was required of me, and trying desperately to hold together the cutting shards of glass which had replaced my heart, wincing as their jagged edges ripped at my chest in protest. My mother's illness prevented her from seeing my broken state, and for that only I was thankful.

My mother had the Spanish Influenza. Cases of it had been seen farther up north, and there had been a panic that the disease would spread to us. And now those fears came to life. All around me I found my family and friends wasting away, until, when the disease finally hit me, I was almost glad of it. I was tired of this incessant pain which tore in my chest, and through the sickness-induced delirium I could hardly remember my own name; my life's memories faded before me, even those of Bella, leaving only a faint feeling of loss. I was dying, far faster than any of the other victims, primarily because I had stopped wanting to live long ago. I watched my mother die, whispering something fearfully in Dr. Carlisle's ear before once again slipping into unconscious. She had asked him to save me, I was sure. I had always been able to tell what others thought, and I knew my mother's dying wish would always be for me. I frowned, not particularly wanting to live. And then my world erupted in fire.

AN: Okay, so that was the beginning of my first fanfic!!!! Yay! So, heads up: I am not good at this. I've written the beginnings of stories before, and hardly ever much else. But I do sort of know where this is going, so if you guys want me to continue, please please please tell me, because otherwise I probably won't. I'm sort of a fickle writer, and I tend to leap from one storyline to another, and sometimes I write them just for kicks. Soooo, if you like it, please feel free to badger me endlessly. If you don't, please feel free not to tell me about it. I am probably going to finish this one, simply because its bouncing around in my head and if I don't write it I'll never be able to focus on Calculus and or English III, but some encouragement would be super great!


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

I groaned in frustration. The image of her beautiful face still haunted me, though all my other feeble memories of my past life had long since disappeared, I didn't even know this child, yet at the strangest impetus my mind would recall her, and my chest would constrict with pain. Then the fleeting recollection would vanish, leaving only an unbearable sense of longing. Who was this girl, that she could remain immutably sharp and clear in the hazy pool of my long neglected memories?

_Edward!_ My sister Alice thought, calling me to her. She had just returned from her hunt, along with her mate, Jasper. He looked at me curiously.

_Are you okay?_ He thought.

I nodded tersely to him and turned to my sister.

"What is it?"

"I think it'll be easier if I show you." She said gravely.

Alice could see the future, a strange talent which had accompanied her transformation. My adoptive father, Carlisle, had a theory that when humans are turned into vampires, their strongest traits are exaggerated. Sometimes these traits became talents, like Alice's ability to see the future, or her husband's ability to sense and manipulate feelings. My mind-reading abilities also stemmed from my human talents.

A wave of pictures played in my head. Some were too fleeting to understand, but I caught the most important one: the image of a girl. She was curled up into a ball, crying. My heart pulled at the sight of her pathetic body. She looked up, as if she could sense us watching her. I gasped. It was _the_ girl, the one who haunted me after all this time. She was older, about my age, and she had the perfect features of a vampire. Her eyes were closed. Suddenly terror flitted across her face, and then her future disappeared. I roared with anger. This girl could not be allowed to die. She was something important; I felt a deep, desperate need to protect her.

"Alice, gather everyone as soon as you can. I'm leaving now." And with that, I flew out the door.

The girl was at the very edge of the borderline made by Carlisle's pact with the Quileute werewolves. It was far from here, even with my extreme vampire speed it would take time to reach there. I pushed my legs to go faster, hearing my family coming after me. As I approached I heard the werewolves at the sight. I swore, hoping that I would not be too late. If they hurt her in any way I would not be able to stop myself from ripping them limb from limb.

_What is this?!_ One of their voices sounded. The pack mind was curiously jumbled; each member had his own mind yet was inexplicably tied to the minds of everyone else in his pack. It seemed that from a distance, the girl was easily visible, yet the moment they got within twenty feet of her they suddenly went blind. I scoffed at their immaturity, that they could be deterred by something so trivial. They growled, warning the girl, and it only increased her terror. I tried to read her mind… and found an empty space. Where her voice should have been I heard nothing, a brick wall, less then that, as if no one was really there. I focused harder, trying to find her.

The pack finally noticed my presence and froze. Several seconds later my family appeared behind me. I disregarded their growls and the cautious thoughts of my siblings and parents, slowly approaching the girl. She seemed to sense that I was coming, her face jerked up, eyes still closed. _She was blind_, I remembered. Suddenly my eyesight seemed to disappear. But it was more than that, I was lost completely. I could feel nothing to help me find her. No! I had to reach her. I had to think as she did. So I looked for her, searched with my mind and soul, calling to her. And then my world completely changed. I couldn't see anything, though my other senses had reappeared. Instead I could _feel_ it, the life force of the forest, and my family. I could sense their soul, as well as those of the wolves. But more importantly, I could sense hers. It was beautiful, breathtaking, even more so than her entrancing face. I walked toward her confidently.

"Bella." I said. Her name. It suited her. I slowly kneeled before her and bowed my head. She reached up her hand to caress my face, her fingers tracing the lines of my mouth and the shape of my nose, as had been our custom. She poked me softly on the forehead.

_Edward. You're early once again. How come you got everlasting life before I did?  
_

Her voice, clear in my head even though she had not spoken, brought an onslaught of memories. I remembered hearing muffled sobs coming from her room as I went to see my mother in the hospital ward to the right of hers. She was to have an eye surgery the next day, and like any normal child, felt scared and hesitant. I felt a pulling sensation in my chest, a compulsive need to console her. She stayed in that room for weeks as the hospital closely monitored her recovery, and my mother's capricious health gave me an excuse to visit her every day. We became fast friends, and I kept her company while her absent-minded parents amused themselves in town. Finally, after her second failed operation, her parents gave up on her eyes and moved away. I flinched at the pain in that memory.

Now memories that I was unfamiliar with assaulted me. I felt her anguish in being separated from me, and the strange, gradual change, which had scared her fickle parents away from her. I realized that Bella was not a vampire. She looked as we did, and clearly had a similarly elongated lifespan, yet she had been developing the characteristics of a vampire throughout her childhood, without having been bitten, and while still growing. It was as if she had grown into a vampire. From what I saw, it was a painful process, stretched out over many years. Though Bella was not forced to experience the excruciating pain of a human transformation, she was constantly plagued by intermittent pains, which came and went, constantly increasing in intensity and frequency. I hugged her tightly, unable to stand her hurting, which resonated inside me more sharply than if it had been my own.

"Forgive me, Bella." I said, hating myself for allowing her to leave.

_I should have been there. I should have protected you. I broke my promise. I failed you. _I thought, burying my face in her soft curls.

_You never failed me. I don't think you could if you tried. And Edward, when you made that promise so long ago, you only promised never to leave. I was the one who broke the promise. I left you. Not voluntarily, but I let it happen. I could have told my parents that for once I would not simply do as they said, would not sacrifice my life in some vain, immature attempt to gain their love. And then, after I abandoned the one person who would have stood by me, something happened to chase everyone else away. That night when I asked for your promise I promised myself that I would never leave you either. And I didn't keep it._

I blinked in shock as I realized that, Bella had both heard the thoughts I had directed towards her, and replied to them. Once again I struggled to enter her mind, and learn her secrets. She was so self-sacrificing, to take all the blame for the pain I had caused her onto her own shoulders. But I could not allow her to do that. My only promise to her had been to stay by her side, and I had broken it.

_Don't blame this on yourself Bella. If I had searched for you, then you would have been happy with me, instead of crying in an abandoned home for parents who stupidly left their greatest treasure behind._

_Do you think for a moment I would have been _happy_ with you if you had left Elizabeth alone in the hospital on some foolish quest to find me?! If you mother had died because no one was there to take care of her, do you think I would have been okay with that?! Edward, you did what you could. Let us just agree to disagree in this one point. _

She had seen my past as well? For a moment, I felt ashamed. My last moments had not been happy ones. I hadn't wanted her to see me acting so pathetically.

_Alright, but only on one condition._

Bella narrowed her eyes, _what?_

Never,_ leave me again. _I shuddered, _its far too lonely without you. _

She smiled, _I think I can manage that._

I frowned. How had she seen my memories? Foolishly, I tried to read her mind once again, hoping that I could somehow lift her thoughts from behind their undetectable, impermeable walls. Once again I tried in vain.

_What is it?_ Bella asked.

_After all this time, your mind is still just as closed to me a it had always been. _I said, almost pouting now.

_Should it not be?_ She asked.

_I can read minds now._

_I'm no surprised. You always could. _

_Except yours. _I said, disgruntled.

_Good._ She said, head down, _you don't really want to know anyways._

_On the contrary, I most definitely want to know. I want to know everything about you, every insignificant thought and fleeting fancy. I will never stop wanting to see more of you. _I said fiercely.

_Then let me show you this. _She said in a challenging voice. Her soul opened further for me, and I immersed myself in her feelings. I floated there, for a moment, wondering what it was that my lady wished to show me. Then I felt it. _Hunger. _Not the faint prickle which had continued to lodge in my throat after my recent hunt, but an intense, overwhelming, _ancient_ hunger. My eyes instantly went black with thirst, and I gripped Bella as tightly as I could to keep myself from ripping the head off the nearest man or animal with blood in its veins. I stared at Bella wildly, trying to understand why she had not hunted. The pain which accompanied that hunger must was devastating.

_Bella! _I exclaimed frantically, _come on, lets go hunt! You don't have to worry about hurting anyone, we only hunt animals. You'll be okay again once you drink some blood. _

_I cannot._ She said, shutting herself off from me so that I couldn't feel the hunger anymore. I mourned the loss, painful though it was. I didn't want to be separated from her in anyway, whatever pain it may cause me.

_Why?_ It felt strange, the way she said those words; not as though she did not with to drink from animals, but rather as if she was physically incapable.

Her mind opened to me once again, this time showing me a new set of memories:

_Her parents souls began to darken in the days following her failed surgery. Their marriage was falling apart, slowly but surely, and, as always, they both refused to take responsibility for their own stupidity. Instead they blamed her. Harsh words where more and more commonplace, aimed both at her and at one another. They hated her for being blind. And then her body began to change. As if specifically to gall them, she became stronger, smarter, far more beautiful. Any other parents could not have helped themselves; they would have adored their beautiful child. Charlie and Renee could only leer with jealousy at her angelic face. She heard whispers around her, of how beautiful she had grown. Yet whenever some complemented her she felt Renee's hand clench, and knew her jaw was clenched in anger. Everyone admired her from afar, yet no one would approach her. Her presence was foreign to them, this shy, alluring, yet indefinably alien girl. Charlie and Renee seemed to sense this, and avoided Bella at all costs. They stayed away for days at a time, coming home always drunk and angry. Then one night everything changed. They were arguing again, and it was scary. Worse than ever before. Bella sat, curled up against the wall, her head cradled between her knees, wishing just once that closing her eyes would make her stop _seeing_. A glass vase exploded a foot away from her head. Crying, she wished for him again. She wished he would walk into the room, silently, determined, and coldly announce to her parents that he was taking her away. Then he would lift her into his arms, kiss her forehead tenderly, and leave with her. And her chest would stop _aching_ from the pain of being separated from him, and she would stop wishing that she could _die_ so that she could escape this decrepit life, this unrelenting loneliness. She knew now, at fifteen years, that she loved him. She knew that even then, she had loved him, and even then he had loved her. But he would not come for her. His mother was dying, she could see that, the one time she'd met Elizabeth, though she had never told him. His father had been drafted into the war, but his chances of having survived were not high. She didn't even know if he still lived, for a plague had swept that place not even a year after they had been separated. Perhaps he was… but no! He could not be, and she would not believe him to be so, lest her heart should truly split in two, the pieces burning and inflaming her body with the agony of lost love. She had to believe that they would meet again. Her soul could not function without it's other half. But for now, she lay despairing, lost in darkness. There was not sound, no feeling, no pain, no sight. Numbness overtook her mind as she squeezed her eyes closed. And then the screaming started._

"_What are you doing you witch!!!" Charlie screamed, flailing around, violent hands searching for his daughter._

"_You're doing this aren't you!" Renee screeched, " Why can't I see! Are you trying to make me blind like you?! You disgusting creature! _YOU ARE NOT MY CHILD!!!_" _

_She looked up, startled. The numbness disbanded. _

"_That's right." Renee said, a sick light entering her dull brown eyes_

"_Did you think you were really our daughter?" Charlie said, smiling ominously as he walked toward his shaking, helpless child. "How foolish. As if we could ever give birth to such a repulsive creature. We found you crying in a forest, with animals around you, worshipping you like the witch you are. We decided to raise you as our own, and this is what you do to repay us?"_

"_I-I'm sorry" she said, softly, sobbing, arms crossed over the painful chasm forming within her chest._

_Renee slapped her hard._

"_Don't you ever dare to speak again!" She screamed. Bella nodded helplessly, tears rolling down her cheeks. _

"_Disgusting," Charlie said. _

_They left soon after that. They continued to abuse Bella, but she didn't speak. Her body was hurting all the time now, and she felt as if she had somehow lost control of it. When she ate, she threw up, and sometimes things broke simply at her touch. She grew afraid of herself, afraid to touch or speak. Every once and a while her parents would come home to find the house dirty, with broken pieces of glass or plastic on the floor. These didn't bother Bella anymore. Her skin had grown too hard for glass to puncture. _

_One day Charlie came home alone. His soul looked dark, full of a kind of vulgar hunger Bella had never seen before._

_"Your damned mother left us Bella. You know it's all your fault don't you? If you weren't such a freak she would still be here. So, how are you going to repay me for making her leave?" He snarled at her, cornering her against the wall. Then he thrust his hand up her shirt. _

_No! She thought, and pushed him away with all her strength. Charlie flew fifteen feet, crashing into the wall on the opposite side of the room with a sickening crack. She stared at his body, crumpling to the floor, sobbing. She couldn't hear his heartbeat._

_She didn't move from that spot for days. Then one day she heard footsteps approaching the house. They were still far, miles away from her. She fled without thinking. That night she heard the news report of Police Chief Swan's death.. Investigations into the murderer were ongoing, but for now the people just wanted to mourn the death of their beloved Police Chief._

_She kept away from civilization, wandering through the wilderness. One night she felt something strange. She could see the soul of a man walking toward her. Yet she couldn't hear him. And his soul was warped and twisted, strange and foreign and frightening. He could not have been human. Suddenly, moving far faster than a normal human should have been able to, he ran towards her. _

_"Well, you are beautiful, aren't you? Tasty smelling too. You'll make a nice snack," he said, "My name is James. Remember it. Today I'm going to murder you." _

_And then he closed in. His teeth sank into the skin of her neck, and she screamed in pain. She flung him off her, and ran. He caught up to her easily, looking confused._

_"How can you be so strong? Hmm, you're interesting. I suppose I'll have to keep you," he said._

_Then an overwhelming, burning pain overcame her. For hours she screamed and thrashed; her body felt as if it had suddenly lit on fire. In a small, still functioning part of her mind, she recognized this burning sensation, if to a lesser degree. The same feeling had plagued her for a while, though at the time she had attributed it to a physical manifestation of her mental anguish. Fear gripped her. Within this unbearable pain she understood: she was changing. She waited silently as the pain subsided, though the perpetual ache in her chest had not left. Something else occupied her mind now. _Thirst. _She was thirsty, her throat burned for relief. She realized that her "sight" had sharpened further. She saw everything around her, even through the various trees and objects which would obstruct a normal person's vision. Her vision was more a sense than a sight, she understood, and felt where objects were, and therefore her vision was not blocked by objects. _

_"I can see through walls", she recalled telling him once. Her chest tightened in pain. She wondered whether he would have accepted whatever it was she had become. _

_She felt someone approaching, the same twisted, inhuman soul she had wanted to run from earlier. But now, when she saw him, she felt no fear. Instead their was an insuppressible feeling of… hunger. He smelled appetizing. Not wonderful, but enough to please her burning throat. Without a second thought she lunged at him, sank her teeth into his hard body, and drank. The taste filled her mind, almost extinguishing all other senses. Strange memories flooded to her, ones which were not hers yet seemed to be an integral part of her being. She was not the same as this man, who she now realized must be a vampire. She was the_ Crusinik **(AN: okay, so I stole this name from Trinity Blood heh heh heh)**_. She preyed upon his kind. She drank from the drinkers. She laughed, no wonder her pale face and nondescript brown hair had never seemed to fit with Renee's Italian style tan and long, oval shaped face, or Charlie's dull blond hair and cold, cold blue eyes. Her "parents" had not been lying when they said that she was adopted. Suddenly, she felt a sharp longing for her mother, her true mother, who she felt was alive, yet strangely intangible. As if she was not only lost but unable to be found. And finally, she felt a strange, inexplicable pull toward something. It was blood that pulled her, blood that _belonged_ to her. She wanted that blood and no other. Again, her strange sight felt it, understood that it was far from her, perhaps in another continent. She allowed her sight to wander toward it, grasping, searching, and then the vampire's blood ran out. His body seemed to crystallize, and then slowly crumbled into dust. Her own pain flooded back to her, all of her memories, and she quickly withdrew inside herself, trying to stem the assault of feelings. She couldn't drink from more of these creatures. The feeling she had, that blood which called to her so strongly scared her. She would refrain from drinking anything at all from now on. Just as she had in before when her parents had argued, she simply shut everything off, disconnected herself from emotion and thirst, and especially the strange pull. She closed her eyes, and wouldn't open them again until nearly a century later. _

I trembled with rage. They had hurt my lady, my Bella, and left her when she needed them. Those irresponsible, heedless pieces of scum had never deserved to be blessed with a daughter as wonderful as Bella. I growled.

_I'm sorry! I'm sorry, its all my fault! Its alright if you hate me now. _Bella's voice in my head was frantic, and her soul looked as if it was breaking all over again. My own produced a sharp pang of protest at the thought of leaving her.

_I will _never_ leave you. _I said fiercely. _This was not your fault. This was their fault, and only they should take the blame. Right now I want to go back in time so that I can kill Charlie and Renee and James and anyone else who might have hurt you while I wasn't there to protect you. _

I looked at her carefully. Her thirst burned in her throat, I could feel the sensation even as she tried to hide it. She needed to drink soon. Somehow, I knew that she could never harm me as she had that creature which had caused her so much pain. Slowly, I raised my hand to cup her cheek.

"You've been hungry for a long time, haven't you love?" I smiled at the heart-shaped face that leaned unconsciously into my hand.

She stared at me, searching for a reason behind my actions while at the same time masking the flare of thirst that assaulted her throat because of my proximity. Vaguely I noticed the way the wolves tensed behind me.

I pulled her face into the crook of my neck, bringing her sharp teeth right above where my pulse point would be if my heart still beat.

"Drink, my love," I said.

Bella's eyes widened, her head snapped up from where it had been resting on my neck.

_Are you insane? Did you not see what I just showed you? Do you not know what will happen if I start drinking? You'll _die_! Edward, please don't let me do this. _She was pleading with me now, making it hard to refuse her.

"You won't hurt me. I don't think you are even capable of hurting me." I assured her; then I plunged her face into the crook of my neck again.

"Trust me." I said simply, knowing that once I said that she wouldn't be able to refuse. She did trust me. Explicitly and unconditionally, just as she loved me. Her teeth plunged mournfully into my neck.

_I just found you again. If you die today because of me, I will not allow myself to be separated from you. Just know that._

_I promised that I would never leave you. I intend to keep that promise, belated as that may seem._

I had expected her teeth in my neck to hurt, but instead, I felt and inexplicable high. Her venom in my body felt right, it as the highest sort of ecstasy. I moaned very quietly against her.

_Am I hurting you?!_ Bella panicked, beginning to draw her teeth away.

"Quite to the contrary love, you can't imagine how that feels," I sighed.

_Show me, _she demanded.

I smiled, always the impatient one. I opened my soul uncertainly to her, unsure how to express my feelings. I felt her soul molding with my own, becoming one with it. I could sense her inside me, and it felt beautiful. Her soul was beautiful. And so, I realized, was mine.

_Hmm_, I thought, _perhaps all these years, the only soul I lost during the transformation was Bella._

_Edwaaaaaaaard_, Bella whined, wanting assurance that I was all right.

I poured my emotions into her soul, and she poured her own into mine. She showed me her happiness and utter completeness at my side. She showed me her wonder at the beauty of our souls combined. Finally, she showed me her love for me. I smiled, rubbing my cheek against her soft, sweet-smelling hair.

_It's strange, but I stay myself when I drink from you. I felt afraid last time, because I drank from that thing without caring, _enjoying_ it. And you taste so much better. Better than anything in the world. _

_Oh? And what do I taste like, beautiful? _I asked, amused.

She paused, embarrassed by my question. I remembered the frequent blush, which had once graced her cheeks at the least provocation. I chuckled, missing the luscious red color that would continually rush up into her face.

_You taste like… honey, and sweet things, but also like warmth and comfort, and… love,_ she sighed, _I can't drink anymore. Your blood makes me full very easily._

My own eyes had started to darken, and I made a mental note to hunt again soon.

We stood up, and noticed that both the wolves and my family were staring at us curiously. None of them had been able to cross Bella's shield, and both were curious to know why we had been staring at each other for so long. Our mental exchanges did not take nearly as long as they would have spoken aloud, but still information could only flow so fast between us. My family yelled at me through their minds, trying to understand why Bella's teeth had sunk into my neck, why she had been drinking the "blood" of a vampire. The wolves simply could not understand the situation. Bella looked much like a vampire, so they could not trust her, yet they wondered if her drinking from me meant that they had found an ally in their hunt against vampires. I smiled to my family in reassurance. Then I turned to the werewolves. They would need to understand what was happening so that they wouldn't attack Bella.

"Bella," I said softly, "do you trust me?"

She nodded her head. Slowly cupping her cheek in my hand, I said,

"Will you open your eyes for me?"

Brilliant amethyst eyes veiled by the finest white film opened to stare into my own. I had missed these eyes, though I rarely got the chance to see them. Bella liked to keep her eyes closed. Immediately my sight returned to normal, and I found that I missed seeing through Bella's eyes.

"Sam Uley," I said, addressing the leader of the pack, "Bella's shield should be down now. If you wish to speak with us, you may."

He started, surprised that I would know his name, and then transformed into his regular human form. I could have told him that I could understand him just as easily either way, but his weaker form gave me an advantage should something go wrong. He walked toward us as his pack stayed close behind, growling menacingly.

_Edward!_ Bella said delightedly, _That boy just changed forms! He seemed different before. But how did he separate from his brothers like that? Doesn't it hurt to leave like that? _Her voice seemed concerned. What she did next froze my long dead heart. Before I could stop her, she ran towards him, stopping only three feet away.

"Bella!" I shouted, running after her. I pushed her behind me just as the wolves tensed to attack.

I growled at them, furious, "If one of you even touches her I swear I will rip you limb from limb". I said, in a calm, deadly voice.

"Edward," Carlisle warned me, speaking for the first time.

_Edward, why are you so angry? They aren't bad people, they won't hurt me unless I hurt them first. _Bella stated. She placed a hand on my shoulder and I instantly calmed down.

"Bella, these people are dangerous, you can't just go running towards them because you want to see what they look like. They hunt my kind," I replied in a tight voice.

_But they look so _pretty_! And they don't seem like they want to harm you, _Bella whined, pouting.

"We have a truce, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous. They're hardly children, if you get too close they might loose control."

I sighed, "You still have yet to develop a sense of self preservation don't you."

Determined, Bella stepped out from behind me, making me growl anxiously, and reached out her hand to touch that of the wolves' leader.

I glared at him warningly, "She wants to communicate with you, and she can't do it unless you touch her hand."

Watching me warily, Uley reached out and touched her hand with his.

_Hello, _Bella's voice sounded in his mind, _my name is Bella. You are very pretty._

I chuckled, and came up to hold her other hand. Directing my thoughts to Bella, I said, _Bella has the ability to see others' souls. You and your pack seem to have very interesting ones.  
_

Uley looked surprised at the compliment.

_How did you do that? _Bella ignored me, _and how did you separate yourself from your brothers so easily? Doesn't it hurt?_

I shook my head thinking, _no sense of self preservation whatsoever._

_I heard that, _Bella retorted.

"We are the guardian werewolves of the Quileute Tribe. We defend our people from vampires. Currently we have a truce with the Cullen coven, that so long as they refrain from drinking human blood, and stay _off_ of our lands," he stared pointedly at me, and I realized that I was on the wrong side of the border," we would live in peace. We will overlook this transgression, given the circumstances, but do not repeat it," He was speaking to me. He turned back to Bella, "Now, I also have a question: what exactly are you?" Uley asked.

_I am the Crusinik. I feed off the blood of my mated vampire. In this case, that vampire happens to be Edward, _she winked at me. _I am no threat to you, or the humans you are obligated to protect, but I won't help you hunt any of my mate and future family's kind. _

I reveled at the sound of the word mate in her mind. Smiling, I opened my soul further to Bella, allowing her to feel my happiness.

_I love you_

She opened her soul in response, letting me feel her utter joy at being whole again.

_I know. I love you too. We will never be separated again._

Sam stared at us. Though he had felt only a fraction of what we had shared, it was enough to overturn many of his preconceived notions of vampires. Apparently, the wolves had always considered us emotionless, stone-like creatures.

Looking at me, Sam said, "If you ever need to contact us in an emergency, know that Bella will be under my protection in these lands."

I nodded, knowing that it pleased Bella that these curious creatures trusted her even to that extent.

_All right my foolish lady, now we need only to introduce you to my family._

Then, turning to where they stood watching us, I said, "Let's go home."

**A/N: okay, so it took me a while to update, but seriously, this was a super huger chapter. I was considering breaking it up, but this is where I really wanted the chapter to end. My set-up of everything is nearly complete, so I'm wondering whether you guys want me to start the main plot right away or give them a little fluff? Also, if you guys missed the customary angsty falling in love slash confessing to one another business I would be happy to add certain things in... just to make it more interesting in that respect. Currently I'm thinking a certain Denali Coven and a pretty strawberry red blonde... So, let me know, and REVIEW. Especially since I'm super excited to figure out what you guys think of Bella's power and her um... not vampire-ness. Let me know!  
**

**PS: for those who are wondering, I did delete this story and then re-put it up, because I'm completely incompetent with a computer and while I was trying to change something in one of my chapters I might have accidentally deleted it (I think?). So anyways, the prologue is the same and everything, just I forgot to change something from when I first wrote it, so I went back an corrected that. Just sort of nit-picky.  
**


	3. Chapter 2

**Okay, this disclaimer goes for the whole story since I might sometimes accidentally forget to stick it on: I own none of the characters, they all belong to the wonderfully amazing mind of Stephanie Meyer, who brought us all Edward, so we won't steal her work. I own nothing *pout*. **

My family was waiting for us when we arrived. They were tense, looking at me questioningly.

_How dare you bring that _thing_ into our house? What is she? She drank from you and now you're inviting her over? How do you know she won't harm us? _Rosalie raged at me in her head. I growled at her, narrowing my eyes.

Bella walked straight into the center of the room and extended her hand to Carlisle, just as she had done with the wolves. He stared at her for a moment, and then pulled her into a tight hug.

With a start I remembered that Carlisle had been Bella's doctor, and therefore knew her almost as well as I did.

"It's been a while, Bella. You have changed much since the last time I saw you."

_Thank you, _I heard Bella speak into Carlisle's mind, _for keeping your promise all this time._

"Of course. It was my pleasure," He said, smiling.

"Promise?" I asked, looking at them questioningly.

"A long time ago, Bella asked me to promise to take care of you. It was on that condition only that she left with her parents. I'm sad to say that at that time I didn't do a very good job of it," Carlisle's eyes dimmed with remorse.

I shuddered, "It wasn't something you could have helped. But why did you never mention Bella to me, after you changed me?"

Carlisle sighed, "Even if you didn't, I still remembered everything. You became a zombie, Edward. Aside from the things you were required to do, you took no interest in anything. When I changed you, it seemed as if the old Edward had come back, if at the cost of most of your memories. At first, I had resolved to tell you after you had gained some control over your instincts. But then, I saw how you had changed, and I knew that if I told you then you would forever agonize over her, wanting to change her but not permitting yourself to. I decided not to tell you. And then, when you left us, I searched for Bella, if only to see what had become of her. She disappeared. I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find her,"

_Carlisle, Edward left ten or eleven years after he was turned right?_ Bella asked.

"Yes," Carlisle said, sounding surprised that she knew of my shameful past. Of course she knew. As I had learned of her past, she had learned mine.

"That was around the time that Bella completed her transformation. She left civilization permanently after that. And with her power, you probably would not have been able to speak to her even if you found her," I explained.

_What exactly has happened to Bella since we last met?_ Carlisle thought.

"I'll explain more once we've introduced Bella to the rest of the family," Turning to Esme, I said, "Esme, this is Bella. Bella, this is my mother."

I watched Bella cautiously. Bella had only met my real mother once, but she had grown very attached to her, and her memories of my mother were more vivid than my own. I hoped the thought of my having an adopted mother would not upset her. Though how anyone could do anything but love Esme I didn't know. Bella looked up at me questioningly, and then a slow smile appeared on her face. She touched my hand.

_This is your mother? _She asked.

I nodded.

_She's beautiful, _Bella stated, staring at Esme. Quickly she let me see through her eyes at the glowing aurora that was my mother's soul. She reached out to touch Esme's hand.

_Thank you so much for taking care of him, _she said, sincerity exuding from her beautiful voice. Surprise flickered in Esme's eyes as she heard my lady's voice.

I rolled my eyes, "You make me sound like a helpless child. I _can _take care of myself you know,"

Bella stared at me in amusement for a moment and then shook her head, _not at all._

Esme laughed, "He is my son. I could not help but care for him."

Hiding a smile, I turned to my siblings. Jasper stood protectively in front of his wife, nearly having to physically restrain her from jumping up to meet Bella. As it was Alice vibrated excitedly behind him. Emmet held a similar posture, but Rosalie was staring at Bella with distinct animosity, clearly in no hurry to meet her at all.

"Jasper, Emmet, relax. She will not hurt you," I said. Bella looked at me sadly,

_Are your siblings afraid of me because I drank from you?_

I looked at her reassuringly, "They don't understand yet,"

Carlisle stepped in, "I think we would all appreciate an explanation, Edward," he said calmly.

I took a deep breathe, "Bella is not a vampire. She is the root of a legend that originated somewhere in Japan, which told of a creature which drank from vampires. The creature is known as the Krusinik. However, Bella can only drink the blood of her vampire mate, my blood is her blood, and nothing else can substitute for it."

_Can I speak to them?_ Bella asked. I nodded.

"You guys, can you hold hands? Bella wants to speak with you," I said.

Alice made a move to touch Bella's hand, but Jasper pulled her back. Instead, Esme took the hand which was not captured in my own, smiling at Bella kindly. Bella smiled back briefly, and then turned to the other members of the circle.

_Memories of our kind are passed down to the children of each generation, so I know much more than would be probable of the Krusinik. We are not vampire hunters. Long ago your kind gave their blood to mine as an act of love. We became bonded through that blood, it became our own. When Edward said his blood is mine, he was not speaking metaphorically. It is physically my own, my true blood. It's call is magnetic, instinctive, and unavoidable. From what I remember, traditionally a newborn will drink once from the blood of a stranger so that they can find the one they need to drink from. A newborn can wait for centuries for their true blood, but once they've tasted it they become dependant on it alone. You see, there have been cases in which a newborn's true blood did not appear at once, but once the person whose blood belongs to a Krusinik is born, that person is destined to become a vampire. There is no choice. I drank the blood of a vampire once before, though unlike Edward he did not live through the experience. Afterwards I laid on the verge of consciousness for days, unable to move. But that blood, compared to Edward's, is like comparing mud to the finest wine. Now that I have had it once, I don't think I could drink any other without serious consequences. I guess it would be a lot like in a human, any other blood would be foreign to me, and it would fight with my body, and besides that it is the blackest kind of blasphemy to betray your other half, body and soul, to taint yourself with another's blood. I promise to you, I would never wish to harm Edward's family by drinking from you. And besides, my kind never evolved as a predator of the vampire. We have similar characteristics because we share blood, but physically I'm probably a bit weaker than you._

"That's very interesting. But how did you undergo this transformation?" Carlisle asked.

Bella winced, _If you imagine the pain you went through in your own transformation, stretched out over something like a year's time, that's what mine was like. I didn't feel all the pain at once, but cumulatively, it had the same effect. _

"Ah, and what exactly is your power? It seemed quite formidable from what I saw. You managed to keep six vampires as well as several werewolves at bay without seeming to even try. Though, it seems, your power had no effect on Edward."

I smiled, "I suppose that would be fair, if it were true, since my power has absolutely no affect on Bella. However, if anything I would say that Bella's power affects me more than anyone."

Everyone looked at me, surprised. They did not seem to have realized that I could not read Bella's mind.

_I think it would be easier to understand if I began by explaining what it is that Bella does, _I said. _From what I saw, Bella's power functions like a shield. But it's strange, because it does not shut people out; rather, it pulls people in. It's your own fear and uncertainty in Bella's world which pushes you out of it. The more she learns about someone, the deeper she can pull them in, which is why she had a much stronger effect on me than she did you. However, I understand her world more than you do, so I was able to break through her shield and enter her world. The shield makes those who try to break it blind, but more than that is strips emotion and feeling from her attackers. The shield is a state that Bella goes in during times of pain, it takes away all feeling, even that of hunger, which is why Bella was able to avoid the call of my blood for so long. She has enough control over it that she can expand and contract its field, and can go into it voluntarily, but it isn't a very pleasant place, and I don't plan on you ever having to go there again, _with this I addressed only Bella. _That she can speak with her mind is another part of Bella's power; she brings people into her thoughts. However, again, it has a limit, because she cannot speak without contact. Bella and I can speak back and forth mostly because we have known each other long enough that our souls share a connection. It's deep enough that when our bodies touch as our souls do we can speak to each other telepathically, and share feelings and images. I can also see through Bella's eyes. Finally, one of Bella's talents as a human was a certain intuition for people's personalities, so as Krusinik she can see people's souls._

"But can't she speak out loud?!" Rosalie said rudely, still glaring at Bella.

I glared back, but Bella spoke for me.

_I will speak again when I am ready, and no sooner,_ she said calmly.

Finally Alice's limited patience ran out.

_Alright, alright enough interrogation! Introduce me to my new sister!_ She thought.

She finally freed herself from Jasper's hold and held her hand out enthusiastically to speak with Bella.

"Hello, my name is Alice and we're going to be best friends!"

Bella stretched her hand out to meet Alice's with a confused look.

_I know we will. I can see our relationship forming even now. _Bella smiled, _Please go easy on me, I don't have quite as much… exuberance as you do._

Alice laughed, "I can see the future, so I already know all the fun things we're going to do, including the shopping trip to Port Angeles we're planning for this weekend."

I laughed at Bella's expression; it was one of ill-disguised horror, as well as resignation at the sight of Alice's heartbreaking pout.

_I'm not getting out of this am I? _She said, turning to me with silently pleading eyes.

"Sorry love, but Alice is incorrigible. And besides, you do need new clothes…"

_Well, you're no help at all. _Bella said, making Alice laugh.

"No whining, it will be fun," Alice said, "Now meet my husband and my other siblings.

Bella touched two fingers to the back of Jasper's outstretched hand.

_I will not hurt her. No matter what, I can see that she is my sister already, so you don't have to worry. Your wife is a very beautiful person. You two make a good match._

Jasper nodded his head, "That's all I ask," and commented to me in his mind, _you had better take care of this girl, Edward. She's a little broken, but she has a big heart. Already she is devoted to Alice and Esme, and I could feel her love for you and Carlisle the moment she realized who you were. I let Alice meet her only for that._

I nodded. To Jasper, only Alice mattered. Bella had proved her loyalty to Alice, and with that Jasper was satisfied.

Bella lightly slapped my arm, _No having silent conversations in your head._

I smiled down lightly and kissed her nose. She clearly had not expected my open affection, and her face became an adorable mix of pleasure, embarrassment, and surprise. I laughed openly at the expression. My family started at the sound. I rolled my eyes, I surely I hadn't been that bad before she came.

_I was wrong, _Carlisle thought absently, this_ is the Edward I once knew._

"Alright Bella, meet Emmet and Rosalie," I said, glaring at Rosalie warningly.

Emmet raised his large hand and Bella wrapped her tiny one around two fingers.

_It's very nice to meet you Emmet. I'm Bella. _She said simply. Unlike most, Bella felt no intimidation upon meeting Emmet. She simply took his great size as part of the playful soul she saw inside of him

"Wow, so you can see souls? What does mine look like?" Emmet said enthusiastically.

_It looks, sort of like a teddy bear. Big on the outside but very soft and comforting on the inside. Like a very immature, playful older brother. _

Emmet looked disappointed, "I look like a teddy bear?"

Everyone stared at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing. It was an apt description.

_A very, very big teddy bear, _said Bella, trying to comfort him. Emmet rolled his eyes.

"You have to admit, the description isn't far off," I said, still muffling my laugh.

"Alright then, what does Edward's soul look like?" Emmet said.

I looked at Bella attentively. Her eyes softened, her gaze met mine and I saw utter adoration flowing from them. My connection to her widened until I could see as she did.

_He looks… Beautiful. Indescribably so. If an angel _were_ to come down to earth, all of his soul's glory would pale in comparison. To me, Edward's soul glows more brightly than any other. It calls to me, it is my own._

_That it is my darling. I traded my own soul for a piece of yours long ago. _I bent down to swiftly kiss the top of her head. She smelled like heaven.

Bella snorted, _You have far more than a _piece_, Edward. You have everything._

_Good, _I replied, _because I have no intention of sharing._

Emmet made awkward coughing noises to regain our attention. "Enough with the mushy stuff. Bella, meet my beautiful wife, Rosalie."  
Bella reached up to touch Rosalie's shoulder, but Rosalie immediately shrugged it away.

"Don't come near me," she said, the venom in her voice more than apparent.

I growled, wrapping my arms around Bella, who cringed away from Rosalie's hostile voice. From habit, she automatically reached up to place her hand on my cheek and calmed me.

_Tell her that I'm sorry to cause her distress, _Bella said.

"What?! You're not the one who should be sorry! She's the one acting jealous for no reason," I exclaimed.

Rosalie glared at me, furious that I had revealed her thoughts while everyone else looked on in surprise.

_It doesn't make sense! That girl doesn't have half my beauty, yet the moment he saw her he changed into _this_! He _laughed_! How can she have such a huge effect on him? No, it's nothing, Edward is just being as weird as usual. If he truly loved her, then how could he have lived this long without her? He probably doesn't even care for her. He's just bored and wanted something interesting to play with._

"First of all, Bella holds one thousand times more appeal to me than you or anyone else could ever have. Don't you understand? I am what I am precisely because that was what she needed me to be. My blood and body were made specifically for her, to serve her, and to love her. She is my world, the sole reason for my existence, not some careless affection as your immensely irrational vanity would have you believe!" I exclaimed, unable to hold my temper at her incredibly ignorant thoughts. She could see the effects Bella had on me just as clearly as the rest of my family, yet she chose to purposefully ignore them to sooth her ego.

"I won't accept her. She's a danger to all of us, she could drink all of us dry, most of all you, because you would lie down and _let _her!"

"Yes, I would. But that is beside the point, because it would kill Bella to hurt anything at all, she isn't even capable of killing someone,"

"Didn't she say that she has before? How do you know she will not do it again?"

_Because I was empty and broken then, from not having Edward. And I paid for it, I nearly died for it. But I won't make excuses. I cannot kill you, even if I tried, because I love you all who are his family. Even you who seems to hate me. You have a beautiful soul by the way. You shouldn't tarnish it like this._

Rosalie looked as if someone had slapped her. She stared at Bella, stunned, and then flew upstairs, Emmet running after her with an apologetic glance at Bella.

"I'm sorry about that Bella. Rosalie can be a bit… pig headed when it comes to letting other people in. She'll get used to you soon enough," I said.

_Will she?_ Bella looked after her in concern.

"She'll have to," I said, smiling down at Bella, "Because I'm not going to let you go. Ever."

Bella smiled, reassured.

_Oh, and Edward?_

"Yes?"

_I love you too. Now, where is your piano? I haven't heard you play in far too long._

_Bella? _I said, panicking. She ignored me, looking around, quickly scanning the entire house with her strange vision.

_It isn't here. Edward, where is your piano? I can't find it. _Bella looked confused, and... pained.

"I haven't played in years. Not since Carlisle first turned me," I said, hesitant.

Bella whirled around to face me, shock and anguish swamping her clouded eyes.

_You _stopped_ playing?!! You loved to play, why would you quit?_

"When Carlisle first turned me, he got me a piano, telling me about how I loved to play. And I remembered how, in the technical sense. I could read music as well as I could English, and my hands knew exactly where each note fell. Yet, it... _ached_, I couldn't play without feeling a burning, inexpressible _loss_. I stopped playing long before we even met Esme."

Bella hugged me tightly, _How much pain has my leaving caused you?_

_No more than my allowing it caused you. In fact, I would say, considerably less. But it doesn't matter. You are here now, and we are both healed. _

_No, it doesn't feel as if we were healed. It feels as if we were never hurt in the first place. Together we are perfect, whole, one soul, one body. Nothing else._

"I'll have to get a new piano. And then I'll play for you as I once did," I said.

I kissed her forehead, laughing and breathing in her beautiful freesia scented skin. I let my lips linger, staring into my lady's eyes, and occasionally flicking down to notice her soft, pouty lips.

_Edward…_

Suddenly Bella collapsed.

"Bella? Bella! What's wrong? Bella, speak!" I panicked, looking frantically at my family for help.

_Edward? I lost you for a second. I think I'm going to sleep again. Like when I drank from James. _

_But why? This is your blood, why is your body rejecting it?_

_I think James' blood must have tainted my body more than I realized. I don't think it's as bad this time, your blood feels like it's washing through my body, cleaning it. It feels… relaxing in a way. Just let me rest for now, and we'll figure this out when I wake up. And don't worry too much, I'll be fine as soon as I've rested. Go out and hunt, your eyes are practically black._

_Don't worry me like that. _I said, burying my head in the crook of Bella's neck.

"Carlisle, Bella needs to rest. We think her body is getting used to my blood. I'm taking her up to my room alright?"

"Of course," Carlisle nodded.

_Take care of her son._

I quickly lifted Bella up in a bridal hold and carried her to my bed. I pulled back the molten gold colored bed-sheets, and gently laid Bella down.

_Mhmm... Edward... So pretty... yum... _Bella mumbled incoherently in her mind, making me tremble with suppressed laughter. Jasper, who, like the rest of my family, had followed me upstairs, gave me a strange look.

"She's talking in her sleep again. She used to do it all the time when we were human. I remember having to save her from various dreams about pillows, bacon, and some misbehaving popcorn..."

Carlisle chuckled lightly, and I could hear Emmet's deep laughter in the other room.

_I love you Edward..._

As always, the moment she said those words emotion swamped my senses. I channeled my adoration for her to her own soul, hoping that she could feel and be comforted by it in her trance.

"I love you too my lady," I whispered tenderly into her ear, laying down beside her and looking up to see that my family members had disappeared. I pulled her into my arms and buried my face in her curling brown locks. She smelt like strawberries and freesias and absolute heaven. She continued to mumble incoherently, and I enjoyed the opportunity to hear her words unfiltered. I distinctly heard her say "so tasty" at least twice. She mentioned my name constantly, and every time I heard it I felt a warm glow in my chest.

Suddenly a memory flitted across her subconscious, making Bella squirm with discomfort.

_She had gotten lost in the crowd, and she was beginning to panic. A girl with cold, stone-like hands grabbed her forearm, making Bella shiver. Her presence seemed... disconcerting. Bella didn't know what was wrong, but she felt afraid of this girl._

"_Are you lost, little girl?" a bright, childlike, yet subtly cold voice asked her._

_Bella nodded her head frantically, desperately wishing that her irresponsible mother would find her._

"_Well, perhaps I should take you with m-"_

"_Bella! Bella, I'm so sorry I wandered off like that! Thank you for finding her, I thought I'd lost you!" Renee babbled, "Please, tell me your name, so that I can thank you properly!"_

"_I am Jane of the Volturi. And there is no need to thank me, it was my pleasure," Bella shivered at the sound of the girl's voice. Jane smiled beatifically, and melted into the crowd._

"_What a beautiful girl" Renee sighed after her, looking wistfully at her own daughter._

_Bella stared after the girl until her mother began pulling impatiently on her arm. It was her birthday that day. She turned three years old._

Another memory flashed, one which had occurred just after Bella had been turned.

_Bella curled up in her customary ball, trying once again to numb the tears off her face. She almost didn't notice the faint presence of a vampire close to her. Instantly Bella's hunger flared, but she beat it down firmly, slipping further into numbness while still paying close attention to this woman. She moved lithely, her body almost catlike, and her soul much like that of a hunter. This woman was angry, full of hatred and malice with clouded her soul, but also of a pain which was achingly familiar, if not a all encompassing as Bella's own. This woman had lost her mate._

"_She's here, I can tell. I will find her, and I will make her suffer," the woman snarled, her voice a high, bubbly soprano which did not at all match the low, catlike growl Bella had expected. _

"_You will do nothing without Aro's permission Victoria, or you will feel the full extent of my power," another voice answered in a cheerful tone unfitted to her words. This voice seemed familiar, but Bella had long since learned not to search through her memories, for fear of reliving things which she could not endure._

"_That girl is one of her kind, her mother died long ago. Aro is curious." The voice continued, allowing distaste to seep into her tone. Bella gasped quietly when she saw the second girl's soul. So much darkness and hatred blackened it, burning it like agonizing flames created by Satan himself. That girl must have been in a constant state of pain, without even realizing it. So different from Bella's own pain, yet for the first time she felt thankful: if nothing else, she did not have to live as that soul did, the epitome of what Hell truly is. Bella realized then that if Hell truly existed, it probably lay simply within the depth of people's own hearts. It made her want to laugh, because her Heaven so obviously lay in someone else's. The pain returned at that thought, and she clutched her hands around herself, wondering if this time she would finally tear in two. It was always bad on these days. The anniversary of the day she had left. _

"_Dammit! Every time we get close to her she disappears again. I can't find her anymore," the Victoria said._

_They departed soon after that, leaving Bella unnoticed, trembling in pain, on the floor of the forest ten feet from where they stood._

Memories continued to play in Bella's head, strange flickers of unconscious discomfort. I realized that Bella had unknowingly been able to sense vampires all her life. But furthermore, I understood that the Volturi, leaders of the vampire world, an organization headed by the brothers Aro, Cauis, and Marcus, knew to some extent of Bella's existence, and that now the numb shield which had previously been her only protection from them was gone.

**Okay, so sorry for taking forever, but I went half-way across the world to India for Chistmas break and then coming back I had exams... so I got very little time to work on this. I promise from now on I'll try really hard to update every two weeks or so. Also, I read the Host over Christmas break and I really liked it, and I wanted to read some fanfic, but I don't know any good ones and I hate trying to sort through... So, if you have suggestions, that would make me smiley the whole day. Reviews tend to do that too (hint hint)...**


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